Soldiers search for Saddam's remains

June 5 2003

US Army combat engineers using bulldozers, backhoes and loaders have dug through a rubble-filled crater in an effort to determine whether Saddam Hussein died in an airstrike on the house where he was believed to be hiding.

The site was attacked on April 7, just two days before US forces took control of the capital. The US military said at the time it had reliable information Saddam and other members of his family and entourage were there at the time.

"For us to expend the amount of money it took to destroy this place, it must have been a key target," said Major Scott Slaten of the newly arrived 1st Armoured Division, which is now assuming responsibility for Baghdad.

He said an engineering unit of the Utah National Guard attached to the 1st Armoured was excavating the site and carting the rubble off in dump trucks to an undisclosed location, where it would be sifted and examined for human remains.

It was not immediately clear what sparked the sudden new interest in finding his remains.
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After the end of the fighting, the two-floor residential dwelling in the upscale Mansour district - in which at least 14 civilians are believed to have died - was left virtually undisturbed.

A bulldozer, a backhoe, two loaders and a dozen heavy trucks, however, were hard at work at the site, which was covered by a thick layer of dust from the pulverised bricks.

The engineers were protected by three Bradley Fighting Vehicles and dozens of armed troops posted around the city block. Concertina wire was strung across the streets to prevent cars and pedestrians from passing through.

Officers said they expected to be done with the digging by yesterday. They said engineers would most likely remain at the location for another week or 10 days to repair nearby houses damaged in the blasts, level the dug area and clean up the street.

Soldiers digging through the wreckage - which was strewn with twisted girders and reinforcement bars - said they had not found anything out of the ordinary.

"There's nothing interesting here, just a lot of rubble," said Pfc. Walter Phillips, 30, of Chicago, Illinois, who operated the backhoe doing most of the digging. As he spoke, his machine was perched precariously on the edge of the five-metre deep crater, its shovel resting on a broken water main at its bottom.

Iraqis living or working near the dig said they doubted whether the soldiers would uncover anything worthwhile. They speculated that Saddam had in fact been hiding in a neighbouring house, just metres from the crater.

"No, no - Saddam ran away. He's hiding," said Munther Meki, a grocer whose shop is located next door to the destroyed house. The storefront window had disappeared, but the shop and its rows of empty shelves appeared undamaged.